Judicial police conducted a search of offices belonging to researchers in Guinea-Bissau on Monday, confiscating hepatitis B vaccine doses during an investigation into circumstances related to a vaccine batch, according to an official announcement. The operation did not indicate findings of quality, safety, or effectiveness issues with the vaccines themselves.
The researchers have been central to a dispute surrounding a study on African newborns funded by $1.6 million from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with matching contributions from the Pershing Square Foundation and the Bluebell Foundation bringing the total to $3.2 million. The Bandim Health Project obtained approval from Guinea-Bissau’s national ethics committee on 14 July and secured clearance from a Danish research ethics committee earlier this month. However, Guinea-Bissau’s health minister, Quinhin Nantote, stated the trial would not proceed, contradicting earlier reports.
The research design would withhold hepatitis B vaccines from approximately 7,000 newborns during their first six weeks of life in a nation where roughly one in five adults carry the virus. The World Health Organization characterized any study denying such vaccination as unethical, noting that hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth represents safe and highly effective prevention in a population where chronic infection can result in severe outcomes including cancer and liver failure.
The Bandim Health Project, established in 1978 by anthropologist Peter Aaby and now co-led by epidemiologist Christine Stabell Benn, has received attention from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who holds the position of HHS secretary. Kennedy has publicly lauded the organization’s research, though scrutiny has focused on replication issues with previous studies by the same researchers and Stabell Benn’s involvement with vaccine policy committees.
Observers noted that Guinea-Bissau’s political instability, including a military coup less than a year ago, creates challenging conditions for conducting clinical trials, and raised concerns about the research environment in a nation with limited public health infrastructure.
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